Page 5 - 2018 JAN-JUN KAAKBAY

5January to June
2018

Virginia Policarpio Hazel Sanchez Elda Rotor

Filipina Women Trailblazers Honored in Inspiring Awards Night in New York

An engineer, a publisher, and a broadcaster. Three women who defied stereotypes and overcame obstacles were
honored at this year’s Distinguished Filipino Women event hosted by the Philippine Consulate General in New York at the
Philippine Center on 12 March 2018. The event was held to commemorate International Women’s Month.

Consul General Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega congratulated Engineer Virginia Policarpio, IBM Senior Technical
Staff Member; Ms Elda Rotor, Publisher and Vice President at Penguin Classics; and Ms Hazel Sanchez, Correspondent at
CBS News for the honor they bring to the Filipino community through excellence n their respective fields.

Consul General Dizon-De Vega added that women’s work is relentless, and encouraged everyone present to support
advocacies that assist women, especially the underserved. She added, “We can only truly rest on our laurels when women
especially the underrepresented ones are allowed to flourish and be active members of society.” Consul General De Vega
capped her remarks by quoting US Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, “Women belong in all places where
decisions are being made. It shouldn’t be that women are the exception.”

Sharing details of her Filipino upbringing, Ms Virginia Policarpio attributed her success to the value of education her
parents inculcated in her and her siblings since they moved from the Philippines to the US. She is emulating their example by
also teaching her children to work hard in school, and encouraging them to pursue whatever their interests may be.

In her personal narrative, Ms Hazel Sanchez shared the virtue of resilience, which she has learned from childhood.
Growing up in a predominantly Caucasian town in the Midwest, she faced discrimination from her peers. But even at an early
age, she was determined to work hard to achieve her dream of becoming a broadcaster. Her focus on her goals paid off as
she is now one of the most recognizable faces in primetime news in New York.

As a minority woman in publishing, Ms Elda Rotor emphasized the power of women solidarity and inclusiveness in
the workplace and society. Her role in Penguin Classics allowed for the best of Philippine literature to be widely available in
America, namely, Noli Me Tangere by Jose Rizal, the poems of Jose Garcia Villa, and the first-ever US anthology of
Philippine National Artist for Literature Nick Joaquin’s works.

Ms Joanne Choi, Assistant Director of Constituencies for Asian American Affairs at the Office of New York State
Governor Andrew Cuomo presented the Consul General with a letter from the Governor in honor of the event recognizing the
distinguished Filipino and Filipino-American empowered women achievers, and two Proclamations for the community’s
celebrations of the International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month.

WOMEN POWER. The Filipino community of New York and New Jersey honors the Distinguished Filipino Consul General Ma. Theresa B. Dizon-De Vega
Women of 2018 at an Awards Ceremony at the Philippine Center last 12 March 2018. accepts two Proclamations and a Letter on behalf of
the Filipino community, given by the Office of New
York Governor Andrew Cuomo, represented at the
event by Assistant Director Joanne Choi.